Free AI Coding Assistants
Which AI coding assistants and AI code editors a developer can use for free today, how many completions or agent requests the free plan allows, which models it can use, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each tool's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . AI coding assistants change their free plans and request limits often: confirm the terms on the assistant's page before you rely on it.
AI coding assistants you can code with for free today include GitHub Copilot (2,000 completions a month), Cline (Extension free, pay only for inference), Cursor (Free plan with limited AI usage), Replit (Daily Agent credits, up to a monthly cap), and Windsurf (Light quota, unlimited Tab and inline edits). Each of the 10 free plans below links to the assistant's page that states it, with its main limit, the models it can use, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
AI coding assistants complete code as you type, answer questions about a codebase and run multi-step agent tasks. Most of them have a free plan, and a founder writing the first version of a product can often build for weeks without paying for one.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free plan can cap completions or agent requests a month, keep the strongest models for paid plans, or ask you to bring your own model keys. Each assistant below shows what is free, its main limit, the models it can use, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the assistant's own page with the date we read it.
Which assistants we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the assistants'. Some of these tools pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which tools are listed or where.
AI code editors and IDE assistants with a free plan
Editors and extensions that complete code, chat about your codebase and run agent tasks, with a free plan or tier to start.
- 1
GitHub Copilot
Developers who want completions on a tight budget
Copilot Free gives 2,000 completions a month and access to entry level models, with limited chat and agent usage. Pro is $10 per month.
- Models on free
- Entry-level models (source: github.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $10 per month (source: github.com)
- 2
Cursor
Trying an AI code editor before paying
Cursor's Free plan includes limited AI usage, with limited agent requests and limited chat requests. Plus is $8 a month.
- First paid plan
- Plus: $8 a month (source: cursor.com)
- 3
Windsurf
Trying an agent-first editor on a light quota
Windsurf's Free plan includes a light quota to code with agents, unlimited Tab completions and unlimited inline edits, with limited model availability. Pro is $20 per month.
- Models on free
- Limited model availability (source: windsurf.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $20 per month (source: windsurf.com)
- 4
Zed
Fast-editor fans who bring their own AI keys
Zed's Personal plan is free forever and unlimited with your own API keys or external agents. Zed-hosted models come with Pro, which is $10 per month.
- What's free
- Editor free forever (source: zed.dev)
- Models on free
- Your API keys or external agents (source: zed.dev)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $10 per month (source: zed.dev)
- 5
JetBrains AI
JetBrains IDE users who mostly want completion
JetBrains AI Free gives unlimited AI completion in JetBrains IDEs and 3 monthly AI credits. AI Pro is $100.00 per user, per year.
- What's free
- 3 AI credits a month (source: jetbrains.com)
- Models on free
- Your own models or agents (source: jetbrains.com)
- First paid plan
- AI Pro: $100.00 per user, per year (source: jetbrains.com)
Start free at JetBrainsTerms read on jetbrains.com on JetBrains AI: the free allowance and how to start JetBrains Startup Program: what startups get - 6
Kiro
Trying spec-driven coding on a monthly credit
Kiro Free gives 50 credits a month and access to open weight models and Claude Sonnet 4.5. Upgrading to a paid plan requires a valid credit card, and Pro is $20 per user a month.
- What's free
- 50 credits a month (source: kiro.dev)
- Payment card
- Card needed only to upgrade (source: kiro.dev)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $20 per user a month (source: kiro.dev)
Start free at KiroTerms read on kiro.dev on Kiro: the free allowance and how to start Kiro Startup Credits Program: what startups get - 7
Amazon Q Developer
AWS developers who want an agent at no cost
Amazon Q Developer's Free Tier gives 50 agentic requests a month and 1,000 lines of code a month for Java upgrades. Pro is $19 a month per user.
- Models on free
- Latest Claude models (source: aws.amazon.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $19 a month per user (source: aws.amazon.com)
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on Amazon Q Developer: the free allowance and how to start
Agentic and open-source coding tools with a free tier
Coding agents and open-source assistants you can run with your own model keys or a free allowance.
- 1
Cline
Developers who bring their own model keys
The Cline open source extension is completely free for individual developers, and you pay only for the AI inference you use. Enterprise is custom-priced.
- First paid plan
- Enterprise: custom price, contact sales (source: cline.bot)
- 2
Replit
Building and publishing a first app in the browser
Replit's Starter plan gives daily Agent credits up to a monthly cap, with Lite build only and one free published app. Core is $20 a month, or $18 billed yearly.
- First paid plan
- Core: $20 a month, $18 billed yearly (source: replit.com)
Start free at ReplitTerms read on docs.replit.com on Replit: the free allowance and how to start Replit for Startups: what startups get - 3
Qodo
Teams testing AI code review on their repos
Qodo has no permanent free tier. Its free 14-day trial needs no credit card, and reviews pause when it ends until you pick a paid plan. Pro Team is $30.
- What's free
- 14-day free trial (source: qodo.ai)
- Payment card
- No card needed for the trial (source: qodo.ai)
- First paid plan
- Pro Team: $30 (source: qodo.ai)
AI coding startup programs
Programs from AI coding companies that give startups credits or a discount on paid plans. Most ask for an application.
Also useful for building and shipping apps
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers AI code editors, IDE assistants and coding agents a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each assistant's terms. Every term comes from the assistant's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A monthly cap on completions or agent requests, or premium models kept for paid plans, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the assistant states them. Some of these assistants pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a assistant appears, and no assistant pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free AI coding assistant?
It depends on how you code. By the terms each tool states, GitHub Copilot's free plan includes 2,000 completions a month with limited chat and agent use, Amazon Q Developer's 50 agentic requests a month with recent Claude models, Kiro's 50 credits a month, and Windsurf's a light agent quota with unlimited Tab completions. Cline is a free extension where you pay only for the model you connect.
Is Cursor free?
Cursor has a free plan with limited AI usage, including limited agent and chat requests. Its first paid plan, Plus, costs $8 a month.
Is GitHub Copilot free?
Yes. Copilot's free plan includes 2,000 code completions a month and limited chat and agent usage on entry-level models. Copilot Pro costs $10 a month.
Is Gemini Code Assist still free?
Not for new requests: Google's free Gemini Code Assist tier for individuals stopped serving requests on June 18, 2026, so it is not in this comparison.
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